Making A Show Of Ourselves

21/03/2018

As the Seascape workshops approach the fifth year of operating, it was time to reach out to wider audience and spread the word as to what makes this course completely different to any other. So when I was approached by the event organisers, the idea of appearing at The Photography Show 2018 seemed like the ideal opportunity.

After having worked out what sort of space I would ideally want and looking at the budget, I checked out what we would need to produce. I decided on a simple 'pop-up' display with two roller banners to fit inside the shell stand, alongside a couple of A5 leaflets to hand out. I then went about creating the artworks and sent everything off to production. I have to say a big thank you to XL Displays for the cracking job they made of printing and producing the stand graphics. It goes to show that a budget doesn't have to be big to make an impact. When in place everything looked really good and created exactly the right impression. Eye-catching, memorable, professional but not off-putting in terms of making us look like an overly expensive proposition. Once the spot lights were switched-on, the colours really 'popped' and I was very happy with our presence.

The show itself was really good for us and Sam and I got to speak to lots of prospective customers. We didn't want to throw leaflets at every person who walked by, but when someone took a second look we did try to strike up a conversation. The first part of the sales pitch was pretty easy as Cornwall sells itself. But as soon as we mentioned shooting the dawn on the south coast and the sunset on the Atlantic Coast with post-processing tuition in between, the concept really caught people's imagination.

We also had lots of great feed-back from other professionals and fellow exhibitors. Even a couple of the other workshop operators came over and complemented us on the stand. It was also good to hear from the visitors that many had seen our press advertising, it's excellent to see everything dove-tailing together. It was also great to catch up with the many workshop clients who dropped by for a chat and during some busy spells they got busy in helping pass out the leaflets!

Professional motorsport photographer Carole McClatchie, a wonderful lady who has visited a couple of times to learn RAW processing and Seascape approaches, to extend her exhibitions, made a great pitch to a stand visitor and I think she may have got a sale! Steve Hammond, a lovely guy and exceptionally talented amateur photographer who is coming down again this November, did a superb job of reassuring an interested couple that they would be making a good choice. Tony Teague who was down with us a few weeks ago for the first time, was kind enough to bring along a colleague from his photography club who he believes would enjoy the course. And in the article image you can see Bob Walsh, a three time workshop client and true 'bon vivant', spreading the word and leaflets for us. So we could not have wanted a better sales team and I have to say a big thank you for such wonderful support. The biggest praise though has to go to my darling Sam, who came along to support me and did such a stellar selling job, really engaging people with her bubbly vivaciousness. What a star!

The show ran over four days, Saturday to Tuesday, and even the snowy weather didn't seem to deter the visitors. Each day saw us making lots of excellent contacts. Upon returning home, I went back into the studio to find over 30 emails from show generated enquiries. So it all looks promising and I had better get busy answering them!

So let me say in closing, if we did get to speak at the show, thanks for listening. If we didn't but you saw us and want to know more, then please get in touch. Overall, if you fancy coming down to Cornwall, to stay in comfort and learn loads as you photograph some of the best coastline in the UK, do please go to the Contact section of the website.